Tory councillors in Hillingdon have emphatically rejected Labour calls for Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Minister for Policing Nick Hurd to resign because they failed to stand up for their constituents' views, and vote against Heathrow expansion.

Mr Johnson, who is MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, had previously promised his constituents he would "lie down in front of those bulldozers" if a third runway was ever built.

But on the day of the House of Commons vote on Monday, June 25, it emerged he was flying to Afghanistan to meet with its deputy foreign minister, having been told by Prime Minister Theresa May he would have to resign if he voted against the third runway.

Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner MP Nick Hurd also stayed quiet on the issue and failed to turn up to vote. He has kept a relatively low profile over Heathrow in recent times, but says on his website he feels his job is to represent his constituents on the issue.

Boris Johnson flew to Afghanistan on the day of the vote over Heathrow's expansion (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

At a council meeting on Thursday, July 5 the Labour group's deputy leader, Councillor Peter Money, tabled a motion calling on Mr Hurd and Mr Johnson to resign as MPs, saying: "I'm here not only representing Heathrow villages but also the 66% of residents in Hillingdon who voted against Heathrow expansion.

"When the evidence is added up it shows that Heathrow will be a costly mistake, bringing no connectivity for the UK business community and ignoring the effects on public health from noise and air pollution.

"I was there when Boris Johnson, MP for Uxbridge and South Ruisplip, said he would lie down in front of bulldozers to prevent the expansion of Heathrow.

"He didn't even bother to turn up to the vote. There was no valid reason for him to miss such a crucial issue.

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"The Government have deliberately gone out of their way to give Boris a way to escape his responsibility to the residents of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

"Nick Hurd MP stated that he also opposed expansion. Where was he on the night of the vote and why has his position changed?

"It is clear that both MPs care more about their personal political careers than the residents they claim to represent."

But council leader Ray Puddifoot accused the Labour group of playing politics and said he had spoken to both MPs before the vote and advised them to keep representing both their constituents and their country.

He said: "Using the topic of Heathrow expansion to suggest that one of the strongest and most outspoken critics of expansion should resign as an MP makes playground politics look positively mature.

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"We have a Labour group who in 2016 said they could not agree with the expansion of Gatwick rather than Heathrow. How did they equate that to putting their residents first.

"Such pathetic representation of their residents should have seen every Labour councillor resign.

"Reducing the government majority from 296 to 294 would have made no difference. This is a battle for the health and wellbeing of our residents and their environment and it is far too important to play silly political knockabout points. The folly of this type of silly squabbling is exactly what Heathrow Ltd want to see.

An aeroplane takes off over the rooftops of nearby houses at Heathrow Airport in Harmondsworth (Image: AP)

"We will again defeat the expansion proposal. However long it takes and however much it costs. There will be no bulldozers at Heathrow for anyone to lie down in front of, so the thrust of the Labour motion is simply not relevant."

Mr Johnson wrote to local councillors saying his resignation over Heathrow would have "achieved absolutely nothing". He also pledged he would continue to fight against the third runway from within government and reasserted his belief it will never be built.

Government ministers had been told by Prime Minister Theresa May they would have to resign if they didn't back the runway, but Mr Johnson has been a well-known opponent of the scheme for many years and has backed alternative schemes like the so-called Boris Island airport in the Thames Estuary.